MANDATA - After No. 3 Line Mountain controlled most of play, but couldn't score against No. 6 Danville in the first half of their District 4 AA playoff matchup Thursday, the oppurtunity was still there for the Ironmen to pull off an upset.
But the Eagles' Chloe Poltonovage wasn't going to let that happen.
Poltonovage scored two goals in the second half and assisted on another to lead Line Mountain to a 4-0 win and erase the sting of any missed chances in the first half.
"Chloe had a great game. We've moved her pretty much all around the field this year," Line Mountain coach Heather Kieffer said. "For postseason, we decided to give her more of an offensive position, moving her to high forward."
The move quickly paid off for the Eagles in the second half when, seven minutes in, Poltonovage won a loose ball down the right side then passed the ball into the middle where Kourtnee Schwartz collected the pass and shot it past Danville goalie Kylie Edwards for a 1-0 lead.
Despite dominating the game nearly from the start - but not scoring - the Eagles were not content with just a single goal.
"After we scored the first goal, we realized 'this is not okay, it's great that we're up, but we can't stop here,'" Poltonovage said. "We have to do whatever it takes to keep going because once we get the momentum up, we're unstoppable."
Poltonovage did just that by scoring Line Mountain's second goal five minutes later.
Off a penalty corner, Poltonovage scooped up a rebound from Celsey Long and slammed it into the cage for a 2-0 lead.
But Poltonovage's impressive game wasn't over. Her biggest effort goal came with seven minutes left when she streaked down the right side and fought her way into the circle to score the Eagles' fourth of the game.
The only goal Poltonovage didn't factor into was Line Mountain's third, one Lauren Scheib scored off a penalty corner on an assist from Annie Klinger.
While the Eagles scored twice off penalty corners in the second half, the team struggled with them in the first half, despite having 13 opportunities.
The team discussed corners at halftime and huddled before every corner chance in the second to try to execute.
"At halftime, we came up with three corners and the order we wanted to do them in and they said let's huddle up before and make sure everybody knows which we're on," Kieffer said. "That gives them a good piece of mind that everybody knows what's going to happen."
Changes on penalty corners and a three-point game from Poltonovage lifted Line Mountain to the semifinal round of AA playoffs, where it now faces No. 2 Selinsgrove Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Bucknell.
In one earlier meeting this season, the Seals scored a first-half goal and held on to win 1-0. Even though Selinsgrove won that matchup, the Eagles are looking forward to a chance at redemption.
"We're going to improve each game," Poltonovage said. "We're going to be really intense at practice the next few days and come out the hardest we've ever come out."
Danville 0 0 - 0
Line Mountain 0 4 - 4
LM - Kortnee Schwartz (Chloe Poltonovage) 36:12
LM - Poltonovage (Celsey Long) 41:52
LM - Lauren Scheib (Annie Klinger) 49:58
LM - Poltonovage (UA) 52:11
Shots - Danville 3, Line Mountain 14. Penalty corners - Danville 3, Line Mountain 20. Saves - Danville (Kyle Edwards) 10, Line Mountain (Kate Campbell) 3.